Beautiful Angel - A Paper Doll Book

Remember that angel paper doll I made for December? Remember how I said I'd make it into a book? Well, I finally got around to it!

Here's the front cover. Order your copy here! 

For this project, I expanded on the December set by adding 6 new outfits exclusive to the book. This is also one of the largest books I've ever put together.  There's a total of 36 full-color wardrobe pages!

These are the six new costumes.  There isn't any real logic to them, much like the December project.  I wanted to expand upon some themes (historical, African textile) and try a couple of new things (flower, nature).

As a way of celebrating another paper doll book, ALL of my paper dolls on on sale right now! Beautiful Angel is 20% off and all other books are 15% off.  Good time to grab a book or three, if you ask me!!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 31

I made it to the end!! It was touch & go there for a while. I finally finished the project 2 days before the 31st!! Considering I starting this project in October, I didn't think it would take that long....

Today is the last of the angel paper doll outfits. I wanted a festive, New Years gown and I happened to have the star & confetti graphic from a previous project.

I've also posted a PDF of the whole collection.  I'll be compiling this into a book at some point, like I did with the Santa and Mrs Claus set.

Right-click to download and print

And here's the link to the PDF file.  It's a horizontal file, so keep that in mind if you print it.

Thoughts? Did everyone enjoy this angel series?  I have to start thinking about next year's project and I have no clue what I'll do!! Then again, once I finished Santa up last year, I didn't know what I'd do next either.

I'll let everyone know when the book is ready.  Thanks for joining me on this crazy paper doll marathon!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 30

Sometimes, I create something simply because it's fun to create it.  Today's outfit is that, pure and simple.  I've really enjoyed making a variety of patterns for this paper doll.  I thought it would be fun to make at least one more.  There was also an amazing head wrap on Pinterest that I really wanted to try.

So that's what I've got today. Something fun and bright.

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I wanted more bright colors, especially after yesterday's very bright outfit.  Aside from that, I had almost no plan for this.  Just something bright & pretty.

Tomorrow is it. It's been a fun month!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 29

At this point in the December paper doll project, I start losing steam.  My inspiration has waned. I'm feeling the time crunch.  It's definitely a paper doll marathon.

Today's paper doll isn't the most inspired.  Honestly, there are two reasons I made this doll.  One, I really liked the choir singer face from day 4.  And then secondly, I really liked Rachel's carolers.

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The colors here are really, really vivid.  I didn't really mean to do that, and I'm not entirely sure I like it.  There were a lot of muted pinks and greens in this series & I just got sick of it, I guess.  I may tweak it for the book.

Oh yeah, I'm totally going to make an angel paper doll book. I'll keep you posted.

Two more days...stick with me!!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 28

For all of you parents out there -- how's winter break going?! We have a house full of toys, video games, visits from family & friends, and I think my kids are going to tear each other apart! My oldest is in first grade and my youngest isn't quite in kindergarten yet.  There's a bit of a maturity gap.  A gap that my oldest is exploiting to full effect.

As a stay-at-home mother, let me just tell you: teachers are not paid nearly enough!

Anyway.

Today I wanted to touch a bit on the "African" part of my African inspired angel paper doll.

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While wandering around the supermarket many (many, many, many!!) times this holiday season, I saw clementines everywhere.  Clementines just happen to be the only citrus fruit I genuinely like, so this is a good season for me.  I dunno what the deal is with oranges and Christmas, but that's ok.

Today's dress was inspired by clementines and a dress on Pinterest.

Don't talk to me about the practicality of a cape & wings.  I don't really care. It was a GORGEOUS dress and I wanted to do it and that's that!

I also wanted to do something that represented wax prints.  That's an article all about wax printing and it's worth a read. Basically the Dutch saw batik in Indonesia, developed their own (inferior) batik method and dropped it off in western Africa where it gained a following.  There's an intricate history of motifs & styles that I didn't really dive into.  Instead, I created a stylized clementine and make a pattern with that. I also fiddled with patterns & blend modes until I got some of the variation that is the hallmark of wax prints.

Three days til the end of this project! I'm happy to wrap it up but it's been a fun one & I'll miss it, too.

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 27

We're having a super fun winter break! My oldest son had a visit with one of his favorite friends, and then my new appliances are coming today, and THEN a Lego day at the library tomorrow.  Good times!

So forgive me if this doll isn't terribly exciting.  I've had a lot going on!

Right-click to download and print

This outfit is vaguely based on a dress I saw on Pinterest. I didn't want to create another white & gold outfit and really struggled to find colors I liked.  These aren't ideal, but good enough, I suppose.  And once I settled on it, the outfit looked vaguely Renaissance to me.  So I made a sort of Renaissance inspired crown for her hair.

Just a few more days to wrap this up! Check back again tomorrow.

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 26

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas, if you celebrated. If not, maybe you enjoyed a much deserved day off!!

Today's outfit is based loosely on an Edwardian dress I found on Pinterest.  I liked the flowers on the bodice of the dress and the crazy draping looked like a fun challenge! Initially, I thought I'd use holly, but once I got started, I really wanted poinsettias.

Right-click to download and print

Although this is based on an Edwardian dress, once I got the colors in & the hair, it really looked more Jazz Age to me.  I like that even better, honestly! It also reminded me a bit of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's paintings which, again, I'm pretty excited about.

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 25

Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating today! We start our day with cinnamon rolls, plenty of coffee, and presents from Santa for the kiddos.  Then, it's off to my parents' house for Christmas with my parents, grandparents, and my sister's family. My kids have cousins very close to their ages and it's so much fun having all of the kids together.

For today, I wanted a fur-trimmed outfit but not a traditional red costume for my angel.

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This dress ended up looking a little Edwardian and I'm happy with that. It feels very vintage to me. Initially, I had plain colors and it wasn't working. I added a subtle houndstooth pattern and that worked well.

Remember, I have paper dolls til December 31st! Come back tomorrow for more and enjoy your holiday, whatever it may be!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 24

It's Christmas Eve! When I was a kid, we lived in northern Vermont and most years, we had snow.  It really was just as beautiful as the Christmas cards make it look.

Anyway, it's been a long time since I loved in Vermont. Lucky for me, all of my family all lives in southern New England now.  We still all see each other at the holidays and my kids are lucky enough to know their great-grandparents.

So today's angel is a very traditional angel. I felt Christmas Eve would be the perfect time for something traditional.

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This was one of the earliest designs I made for the angel series. I put it off til the end partially because it felt to complicated to render in Illustrator.  Forgive me while I brag for just a second - those HANDS!! They were tough to draw on paper and really tough in Illustrator, but I'm really happy with them.  I modified the gown while I was working on it, too. Generally, I avoid transparency because I need a skin tone under it and that limits my mix & match options.

I'm really happy with this doll and I hope you are, too.

Have a happy Christmas Eve and make sure to come back!! My December series runs the WHOLE month, not just til Christmas!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 23

If you love beautiful clothing (which, naturally, you do) and you want to lose half a day to Pinterest, I suggest searching for caftans (or kaftan. Not sure which is the preferred spelling).  I discovered that there are TONS of caftans.  Middle Eastern ones. Moroccan ones. Haute couture ones. Every day ones.  And they are gorgeous.

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My caftan is based on a Moroccan one I saw on Pinterest.  I created a pattern based on Moroccan mosaics.  As for the colors, I wanted something darker but still a red/green combination.  I really wish I knew more about non-Western fashion.  Maybe I'll work on that more next year!

Also, happy birthday to my husband who never reads my little blog, but is always encouraging me to keep it up.

Come back for more tomorrow!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 22

Does anyone else get special pajamas for Christmas? My kids and my nieces do, and that's mainly because of my mom.  My mother was a teen in the 1970s, at the height of prairie fashions.  I was a kid in the 1980s and prairie style was still going strong.  I distinctly remember having ruffly, old-fashioned nightgowns as a kid.

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I wanted soft, almost printed calico kind of color.  And a teddy bear because everyone needs a good teddy bear friend. Does anyone else remember The Christmas Toy? I remember watching it on TV when I was a kid... It was kind of cute and kind of weird all at the same time.

My kids have been loving the Christmas PJs and Christmas TV specials. Anyone else? Come back tomorrow for another angel outfit!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 21

A while back, I shared my Pinterest board for this project. There's a lot of eclectic stuff there but one thing that popped up a lot were vintage Christmas cards.  Today's paper doll is based on this card specifically.

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I was both excited and terrified to take on this outfit! That's why it's near the end of the project.... I loved the colors of the vintage Christmas card and the garland. I knew I could draw a simple dress but the garland was a bit more intimidating.  After tinkering with brushes in Illustrator, I came up with a method that worked and didn't take as long as I thought it might!

This is one of my favorite outfits. I love the way it's a riff on and not a copy of the vintage card! Let me know what you think! Just a few more days left...!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 20

I received a lot of great requests this year! Some of them were things I was already working on, like the Persian set. And others were too interesting to pass up, like the nautical one.

Some left me a bit perplexed. Like this one.

Right-click to download and print

I was asked to create a Viking paper doll.  Rachel over at Paper Thin Personas has made some lovely Viking and Norse dolls & if you want to understand Norse clothing, check out her research. My research was much less intensive.  I struggled with the idea of a Viking paper doll because I had a picture in my mind of a Valkyrie with a sword & armor and that didn't fit with my notion of a multi-cultural angel of peace.

So I went the Norse route and I'm pretty happy with it. I decided to just go for it and make her a blonde.  Why not?!

More to come tomorrow!!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 19

Today I have a Mycenaean inspired angel costume.  I chose Mycenaean because one of the earliest mentions of angel ("messenger") is in an ancient Mycenaean document. I used Peacock's Chronicle of Western fashion as a reference, although honestly, I'm not sure what the difference is between Mycanean and Minoan.

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My costume is based on one of the images here.  I really liked the colors.  Also, I chose NOT to have an open front jacket for, I think, obvious reasons.  This outfit isn't meant to be an accurate historical interpretation, just something pretty based on some interesting art.

We're super busy here -- just a few days til Christmas and my kids are super excited! More outfits to come!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 18

At the beginning of this project, I mentioned that I'd take requests.  Some of them were ideas I was already working on.  Some of them I'm still thinking about and trying to decided if I want to make them.

Today's theme was one I wanted to tackle but didn't really know how.

Rachel of Paper Thin Personas mentioned a nautical angel.  I wanted to do something nautical but not like last year's nautical set.  After researching, I settled on this design.

Right-click to download and print

I've pretty much always lived in New England. I'm a proud Vermonter, spent a couple of years in Connecticut, went to high school in New Hampshire, and finally settled down in Massachusetts.  I consider myself rather well-rounded when it comes to my region! Where I live now, we're not far from the ocean.  There are memorials in a lot of coastal towns for sailors lost at sea.  Two of them influenced this outfit.  One of them is the Lady of the Sea. It's a beautiful sculpture and the pictures don't really do it justice.  The second is the Gloucester Fisherman's Memorial. (It's pronounced Gloss-ter for non-natives.) I've seen this one in passing but never up close.

I combined elements that I liked of both and gave it a soft, stormy color scheme. I like how the dress flows - it reminds me of ocean breezes.

Anyway, I hope everyone likes it. And thanks to Rachel for the suggestion. 

More to come tomorrow!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 17

Like many people, I find my inspiration in a bunch of places. I love fantasy gowns and elaborate fashion.  There's an costume designer I follow online who creates amazing gowns.  This was inspired by her craft.

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I knew I wanted to create a rainbow colored dress but I really had no idea exactly what shape that should take.  The dresses at Firefly Path were a great source and I like how this all came together.

We're more than halfway through December! Come back tomorrow for yet another dress!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 16

And now, for something completely different!

Today's outfit is pretty much the complete opposite of yesterday's.  In The Chronicle of Western Fashion, there's a plate that's identified as a Renaissance Portuguese queen. I'm not sure which one it was because there's almost no reference in the book to exactly what the sources were. That's fine. I did my own thing anyway.

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I liked the black & gold color scheme. My black is a more maroon/reddish black. The elaborate Renaissance gown wasn't too difficult to make once I created a couple of brushes and patterns from an old Adobe Illustrator pattern swatch.  When Adobe moved from the CS versions to the CC versions, they got rid of a bunch of pattern swatches and it annoys me.  I don't have all the legacy swatches & never backed them up off of my old (now extinct) computer.  I mean, they were default swatches - I never expected them to disappear! Ok, ok, rant over!

Anyway, I know the color scheme is a bit dark, but I really like it.  Let me know what you think! I'll have something brighter for tomorrow!

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 15

If you've been following my blog long enough, you'll know that I have two amazing sons.  They are brilliant and talented and just the best kids. I can't say enough about how great they are. I've been able to stay home with them, so I feel like a doubly lucky mom.

You might also know that my oldest has a December birthday.  And that's today! We have a big family party planned for this weekend.  We always let the boys choose a restaurant to go to on their birthdays.  That's what we'll do this evening.

My kids love animals, but especially my oldest.  Today's angel paper doll outfit seemed like the perfect one to post on his birthday.

Right-click to download and print

Last year, I made a woodland themed Santa set and I wanted to revisit that idea with the angel series this year. It would have been easy to copy the colors & patterns but that just didn't feel right.  So instead, I drew a little lamb with soft blues & yellows.  I didn't have a really clear plan for this set.  Once the dress was completed, it felt a bit plain. So I added in some stitching and that worked well!

Enjoy today's outfit. There will be more tomorrow! And happy birthday to my Noah :)

December Angel Paper Doll - Day 14

Some days, I have something profound things to say about the day's outfit.  Sometimes, I don't.  Today falls more into that latter category!

Today's angel outfit is inspired by ancient Greek clothing.  The word "angel" is related to a Late Greek word ἄγγελος ángelos. Also, Nike looks a bit like an angel and I liked that, too. But really, I just wanted to try drawing beautiful drapery in Illustrator...which is harder than it looks!

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I didn't want a bright white color scheme for my Greek inspired outfit. It felt both cliche and inaccurate.  Most of those ancient bright white statues probably weren't bright white when they were created.  So I went with red and gold for my Greek inspired angel.

Let me know what you think! And, again, there will be more tomorrow!

December Angel Paper Day - Day 13

As promised, today's outfit is entirely different than yesterday's!

Today's outfit is another one directly influenced by African cultures, namely kente cloth.  Kente cloth has its origins in Ghana and the Ashanti kingdom.  There is a ton of information about kente cloth out in the world - I started with Wikipedia.  Like the rest of this project, I really only skimmed the surface of scholarly information available.

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The outfit is based on one I found on Pinterest.  I loved the drape of the cloth and the idea of holding a large wooden bowl.  I knew I wanted to use kente cloth patterns at some point in this project.  Kente cloth is highly symbolic.  Colors and patterns are very meaningful. The pattern I used is called Fathia Fata Nkrumah.  I also saw it referred to as a stars pattern.  It symbolizes unity, among other things.  As for colors, I chose blue for peace, gold for royalty, green for the land and spiritual growth, and white for pureness and faith.  The bowl holds papayas, a fruit that is now grown in tropical regions throughout the world.  I was initially going to put apples in the basket but that felt really generic.  I also like the technical challenge of the papayas -- I used the good ol' gradient mesh tool in Illustrator.  It's a tough tool to master but SO amazing when it works!

We're closing in on the half-way point of the project....plenty more to come!